Here we have prepared for you the two-match analysis of an upcoming Bundesliga week 4 showdowns that will take place in Munich and Frankfurt between home teams and their foes from Mainz and Augsburg on Saturday.
This double-header that we have prepared for you features clashes between defending champion Bayern Munich and FSV Mainz team who managed to record fist win last week and between last year’s DFB Pokal runners-up Eintracht Frankfurt and FC Augsburg. After a busy midweek on European team competitions scene, we’re coming back to national championships play in order to regain some momentum when it comes to selecting quality picks.
German Bundesliga competition quickly moves forward as it seems like yesterday when we wrote about season openers and we are already in week 4. There have been some interesting results and developments so far as no team has all three wins recorded and only one team has three losses. The battle on the top and for the survival will probably epic again this year but we must go step by step. Let’s start.
Bayern Munich vs. 1. FSV Mainz
Three-Way: 1: Bayern Munich -455; X: +925 Draw; 2. FSV Mainz +2850
Spread -2.5: Bayern Munich +123; 1. FSV Mainz -123
Total +3.5: Over -110; Under +106
BAYERN MUNICH
The Bayern Munich team suffered a first defeat of the season last week against a traditionally tough opponent for them, Hoffenheim, 2:0, marking a second straight year with no goals scored at the Rhein-Neckar-Arena. Hoffenheim recorded an unusually easy win as Munich’s players missed chances and Hoffenheim’s turned theirs into goals. It looks like there actually is some kind of problem with Bayern’s squad that pre-season results suggested. Still, next matchup is at home against the team that has only one win in first three rounds and there shouldn’t be many problems securing another win.
On Tuesday they started the UEFA Champions League competition with a 3:0 home victory over the Belgian champion Anderlecht thus securing three points in the group B that features Celtic and Paris Saint-Germain too. In a last week’s loss to Hoffenheim, Carlo Ancelotti set a 4-3-3 formation with T. Muller, R. Lewandowski and K. Coman at the top. C. Tolisso, T. Alcantara, and S. Rudy operated in the middle of the field while J. Kimmich, J. Martinez, M. Hummels and Rafinha constituted the defensive line. Munich held the initiative throughout the entire match with 67% ball possession and 29 total shots towards Baumann’s goal but couldn’t score.
David Alaba (knee) is expected to be out until at least mid-October while Juan Bernat (ankle) should be ready in early November. Franck Ribery is listed as probable with a minor knee injury.
FSV MAINZ
The Reds from Mainz recorded the first win of the new Bundesliga season last Saturday after two initial defeats. They emerged victorious against Bayer Leverkusen at home thus putting first three points of the season on the board. They currently rank 13th in the league table with three points and 3-3 goal difference. At home, they are 1-0-1 thanks to that week 1 loss against the newcomer Hannover 96.
The clash against Leverkusen didn’t start well as Dominik Kohr score the opener to send the visitors to a 0:1 advantage but home team managed to regroup quickly as Yoshimori Muto scored the equalizer in the last minute of the first half. The halftime break came hefty for the home team as they looked much better during the second half scoring two more goals (A. Diallo in the 57th minute, S. Serdar in 71st minute) to stamp the first win of the season.
Jannik Huth (knee) and Alexander Heck (ankle) will be out until the end of this month while Kenan Kodro’s (ankle) and Emil Berggreen’s (muscle) status is unknown. Danny Latza (calf), Aaron Seydel (knee) and Marin Sverko (muscle) are listed as day to day while Alexandru Maxim (virus), Philipp Klement (thigh) and Gaetan Bussman (groin) are back in training.
Bayern Munich vs. 1. FSV Mainz – Match Prediction
Last year’s matchups between these two foes went down with a 3:1 road win by Bayern and a 2:2 draw at Allianz Arena. Having in mind teams’ recent form we could expect a high scoring match and that’s where I will put my money on. The home team win is expected, but I don’t see much value in those odds.
My pick: Total: Over 3.5 goals (-110)
Eintracht Frankfurt vs. FC Augsburg
Three-Way: 1: Eintracht Frankfurt -104; X: +266 Draw; 2: FC Augsburg +375
Spread -0.5: Eintracht Frankfurt -111; FC Augsburg +106
Total +2.5: Over +137; Under -143
EINTRACHT FRANKFURT
A loss a win and a draw is the sum of Eintracht Frankfurt team so far in German Bundesliga. The first win came last week when they managed to stage an upset by defeating Borussia Monchengladbach at Borussia Park (0:1). Currently, they rank 11th in the league table with four points earned and 1-1 goal difference. On Saturday they will try to secure some kind of a positive result having in mind that first home matchup of the season ended with a 0:1 loss.
Against Monchengladbach, defensive 5-3-2 formation finally paid off after Kevin Boateng managed to score the opener after only 13 minutes of play. Indisposed Borussia squad and strong 6-man defensive wall in front of Hradecky’s goal helped Eintracht overwhelmingly as the game ended with only one goal scored. Playing in a very defensive scheme was successful this time for head coach Niko Kovac but the question of how long will the fans be patient and how this kind of strategy will cope with more effective opponent’s remains.
Max Besuschkow (groin) should be back in a few weeks while Danny Vieira Da Costa (thigh) and Alexander Meier (ankle) should be ready in early November and early October. Omar Mascarell (Achilles tendon) is out until January next year while Yanni Regasel’s (back) status is unknown. Kevin-Prince Boateng (concussion), Makoto Hasebe (knee), Danny Blum (neck) and Leon Batge (knee) are back in training.
FC AUGSBURG
Another team that has recorded all three possible outcomes in the first three rounds of the Bundesliga is FC Augsburg. Facilitating factor is that they played last two games at home, as schedule favors them early in the season. They currently rank eighth in the Bundesliga table with four points earned and 5-3 goal difference.
Last week’s win came against the only team that recorded all three losses in first three rounds, FC Koln, 3:0. Centre-back Alfred Finnbogason was the central figure of the match as he recorded his first hat-trick in German Bundesliga. Two early scores in the first half and the deal-sealer in fourth minute of the injury time was enough to secure a comfortable win and send visiting fans to despair. Two solid home performances could be used as a foundation for some kind of a positive streak but we’ll soon see if these are realistic expectations.
Tim Rieder’s (knee) status is unknown while Caiuby Francisco Da Silva (muscle), Georg Teigl (back), Alfred Finnbogason (virus), Moritz Leitner (ankle) and Marvin Friedrich (muscle) are all listed as day to day. Raphael Framberger (knee) is back in training and should be ready for Saturday.
Eintracht Frankfurt vs. FC Augsburg – Match Prediction.
This sound like a business as usual in German Bundesliga this year (Under 2.5 goals in total) and it would be unwise to go otherwise. Additional pick on the other side could be a draw because it makes the most sense.
My pick: Total: Under 2.5 goals (-143)
Additional pick: Draw (+266)
